GAVI Board Chair announces strengthened governance structure

Gender target achieved and executive committee process to be streamlined

GAVI partners are represented through 18 seats on the GAVI Alliance Board with nine seats reserved for independent or unaffiliated individuals.

Oslo, 17 April 2012 – Under the leadership of its Chair Dagfinn Høybråten, the GAVI Alliance Board is strengthening its governance structure by improving its gender balance and streamlining its executive committee composition.

With the appointment of three excellent new independent Board members, all of them women, GAVI’s Board has this month achieved the target it set for itself in 2010 of at least 40% representation for both genders. Eleven out of 26 Board members are now female.

Streamlined process

The Board Chair has also overseen the restructuring of the Board’s Executive Committee to simplify the process concerning commercially-sensitive decision making.

“We believe our governance standards are world class and transparent, and we are always looking to improve and streamline our processes,” said Mr Høybråten.

We believe our governance standards are world class and transparent, and we are always looking to improve and streamline our processes.

Dagfinn Høybråten, Board Chair, GAVI Alliance

The Board’s 12-member Executive Committee is empowered to make time-sensitive decisions on behalf of the Board between scheduled Board meetings. Since 2008, one of these seats has been assigned to a representative of the vaccine manufacturing industry. Following a decision by vaccine manufacturers not to seek reappointment to the Executive Committee, the Executive Committee will contract to 11 members: the Board Chair, the Vice Chair, eight additional Board members, and the non-voting CEO.

Vaccine manufacturers

“This voluntary move by the Developing Countries Vaccines Manufacturers Network (DCVMN)1 and the industrialized countries vaccines manufacturers will simplify our discussions and decision making processes even further,” Mr Høybråten added. "Vaccine manufacturers continue to be an important partner in our Alliance and on the Board".

Under existing procedures, conflicted members and members with even a perceived conflict of interest must remove themselves from discussion and voting on sensitive items related to their respective constituencies.